Ace Wilder – Busy Doin’ Nothin’
Updating the sentiment of "Wham! Rap" for Melodifestivalen 2014, it's Sweden's Ace Wilder - she takes pleasure in leisure and believes in joy...
Carly Rae Jepsen – Run Away With Me
Everyone likes Carly Rae Jepsen, but apparently only for one single per album. Luke explains why that's a terrible mistake.
Jazmine Sullivan – Bust Your Windows
A tale of revenge which is, quite literally, smashing.
Vince Kidd feat. Vanessa White – The Zoo
Luke wonders why Vince Kidd remains "a curiosity on the fringes of pop".
CHVRCHΞS – Clearest Blue
The success and ubiquity of some bands is a little perplexing, and Scottish synth pop specialists CHVRCHΞS are a great example. To date they’ve had one ‘hit’ (The Mother We Share, no.38) […]
Florence + the Machine – Hurricane Drunk
Luke gets a lesson in anatomy from Florence Welch and discusses the art of single picking.
Becky Hill – Losing
We exist in an odd time in the pop industry. In a post-recession world, money talks. Decisions at [insert record company here] are made with one eye on the bottom line rather than […]
Tove Styrke – Ego
Think back over the last few series of The X Factor and you might be able to name the winner, and possibly even the runner up, but rarely does anybody […]
Dami Im – Super Love
Unless you’re an ardent fan of The X Factor’s international franchises – and let’s face it, who is? – you won’t have heard of Dami Im, a Korean immigrant from […]
Erik Hassle – No Words
There’s a school of thinking that says Scandinavian pop is the best kind of pop, and with Måns Zelmerlöw taking the Eurovision trophy back to Stockholm for the second time […]
Cher Lloyd – Sirens
Remember Cher Lloyd? She’s that annoying bubblegum brat from the estate with the hi-tops and tracksuit who thought she was going to waltz her way to the X Factor title […]
Spice Girls – Move Over
“Luke, you simply have to write about the Spice Girls.” You’d think this would be hard; every track the girls ever released as a single charted strongly, so what’s left […]
Daphne & Celeste – You & I Alone
On the front cover of the Evening Standard’s latest ES Magazine is a striking image of a skull in spectacles with a full beard, and the headline ‘DEATH OF THE […]
Madeon ft Kyan – You’re On
Before the days of ‘Little Monsters’, HypeMachine, and VEVOLift (an impressive rebranding of the term ‘advertising’,) if you wanted to be a popstar you had to pay your dues as […]
Little Mix – Boy
We often forget that the girls and boys who pop up as teenagers on talent shows like Popstars and The X Factor aren’t just people who want to be popstars […]
All Saints – Chick Fit
When the Spice Girls‘ cooler rivals made their 2006 comeback with Rock Steady and reached the heady heights of number 3, they seemed nailed-on to conduct an assault on the […]
SoundGirl – Don’t Know Why
“Right guys, it’s 2011. LOL-pop is over, and we need a new sound. You’ve got 15 seconds. Go.” “Well, I’ve got this song. It’s basically a pop-reggae interpolation of Carly […]
M.O – Hot
In my last missive I mentioned Left My Heart in Tokyo, and the fortunes of the Mini Viva girls – Brit and Frankee – have gone in somewhat different directions […]
Girls Aloud – On the Metro
Polydor HQ, late 2012. Picture the scene: Girls Aloud have just sent Twitter (a.k.a. the gays) into meltdown with the “accidental” leaking of comeback single Something New. Cheryl Not-Cole is […]
